Module 11 · 10 chapitres

English Didactics — Inspector Competition (Middle School)

A unit built on the official CNEE card for the July 2025 inspector-training competition, English, middle-school track: the didactics component (80%, written in English) — Area 1 (theories, approaches and methodology of teaching English) and Area 2 (materials, testing, standardized tests, evaluating curricula and policies). Ten chapters with an inspector's lens, and a quiz in the format of the exam. It states its limits: the card gives no weights inside the component, the official Moroccan English documents for middle school were not consulted, and the knowledge and competences test is not covered.

10 chapitres 10 questions ~8.0 heures

Objectifs du module

Know the exam card, its two components and two areas, and the limits of the sources.
Name the learning or acquisition theory behind a short classroom description.
Distinguish UDL, standards-based education and the competency-based approach; and CLT, TBLT and the traditional methods.
Plan and analyse skills lessons, classroom management and teaching young learners.
Evaluate the use of technology and AI in language teaching.
Evaluate materials, design and review tests, read standardized tests, and evaluate curricula and policies.

The exam

This unit prepares the didactics component of the inspector-training competition (concours d’accès au cycle de formation des inspecteurs pédagogiques, CFIE Rabat) for English at middle-school level. It is built on the official CNEE specification for the July 2025 session. This first chapter sets out exactly what the specification says, what it leaves unsaid, which sources this unit relies on, and how its content areas map onto the chapters that follow. Read it first: it tells you how far you can trust the rest.

1.1 The exam card

Item	What the official card says
Competition	Entry to the training track for educational inspectors, lower secondary (middle) school, CFIE Rabat. Session: July 2025.
Subject	English
Written tests	Two tests per specialty. (1) Knowledge and competences in English. (2) Educational sciences and didactics of the subject. This unit covers test 2 only.
Test 2: coefficient and duration	Coefficient 1, three hours.
Component 1 (20%)	Educational sciences. Language of the test: Arabic. Format: a text followed by questions, or open questions.
Component 2 (80%)	Didactics of English. Language of the test: English. Format: closed and/or open questions.
Scoring	“The scoring of each task is specified in the test.” The card gives no points per question and no weights between the two content areas of Component 2.

The card also lists nine possible question formats: multiple-choice items, open-ended questions, questions requiring reflection on practice, completing charts, designing lesson plans or activities, writing a paragraph or essay in response to a teaching/learning issue, gap filling in a text related to teaching and learning, elaborating on a quotation, and analysing a case study.

1.2 The two content areas of Component 2

Area	Topics named by the card	Chapters
Area 1. Educational theories and approaches, and the methodology of teaching English	Theories of learning · theories of language acquisition · frameworks, approaches and methods (Universal Design for Learning, standards-based education, competency-based approach, communicative language teaching, task-based language teaching, traditional methods such as Suggestopedia, the Silent Way, Grammar Translation, the Audiolingual Method) · teaching language skills and components · classroom management · technology in language teaching (theories and models, gaming, apps, AI) · teaching young learners (diverse profiles, characteristics, challenges, opportunities)	2 to 8
Area 2. Managing, assessing and evaluating learning, resources and teaching aids	Language teaching materials (development, evaluation, adaptation) · models and principles of language testing and assessment · test specifications and test design (for example a sample reading test) · standardized tests (the baccalaureate exam, PIRLS, PISA) · feedback and assessment follow-up · evaluating educational policies and curricula	9 and 10

An inspector’s exam is an exam about judging teaching Look at the verbs and the objects in Area 2: evaluate materials, evaluate policies and curricula, design a test, follow up assessment. This is not the exam of a classroom teacher who must choose an activity; it is the exam of someone who will observe a lesson, judge a textbook, read a test and advise on a curriculum. Throughout this unit, each chapter ends with an inspector’s lens: what you would look for, and how you would justify a judgement in writing.

1.3 What the card does not say

No weights inside Component 2. The two areas are listed without percentages. Do not assume they are equal. This unit therefore gives Area 1 more chapters because it has more listed topics, not because it is known to weigh more.
No set bibliography. The card names concepts and a few test names (PIRLS, PISA, the baccalaureate), not authors or official Moroccan documents.
No past papers. We have no earlier CFIE paper for English to calibrate the question style. The unit’s questions are written from the card’s topics and its nine question formats; they are not reconstructions of real items.
Middle school only. In the official index, English appears for the middle-school track only. There is no English card for the high-school track in that index.

1.4 Sources used, and their limits

Source	Use in this unit
CNEE cards for English, middle-school track, July 2025 (knowledge and competences; educational sciences and didactics)	The only official source. Everything about format, components, topics and languages comes from these two cards, read in full.
Standard references in English language teaching and testing (listed in chapter 10)	Definitions and distinctions. They are well-established works, but they have not been re-opened one by one for this unit; check a precise date, page or quotation before you rely on it in writing.
Platform unit Advanced English Knowledge and Skills	Not a source for this unit. It covers reading, language and writing at a high-school level and rests on a different official card (the high-school specialty test, with other weights). It is the closest unit we have to the knowledge and competences test, which this unit does not cover.
Moroccan middle-school English guidelines and the national curriculum documents	Not consulted. This unit therefore makes no claim about what Moroccan official texts prescribe for English in middle school. Use the platform’s official-documents library, and treat any Moroccan-specific claim made elsewhere as unverified until you have read the original text.

1.5 How to use this unit

Read chapters 2 and 3 first: theories explain the labels used everywhere else.
Study each contrast table, then close it and rebuild it from memory.
Take the unit quiz. Every question is a classroom or inspection vignette with five options, the fifth being “None of the above is correct”; the distractors are neighbouring concepts.
For Component 1 (educational sciences, in Arabic), use the platform’s educational psychology, sociology and assessment units; their domains match the card (35%, 35%, 30%).

Common trap. Reading “closed and/or open questions” as “mostly multiple choice”. The card allows nine formats, including lesson-plan design, paragraph writing and case-study analysis. Practise producing answers, not only recognising them.

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Area 1 — Theories, approaches and methodology

Area 1, first topic: theories of learning. The card lists “theories of learning” as the first topic of the didactics component. In an inspector’s exam, theories are never asked for their own sake: a short classroom or inspection description is given, and you must name the theory it embodies, or judge whether an activity matches the theory the teacher claims to follow. This chapter gives the families, their key names, and the observable signature of each.

2.1 The main families and their classroom signatures

Theory	Key names and concepts	How it shows in a lesson
Behaviourism	Pavlov (classical conditioning); Skinner (operant conditioning, reinforcement, shaping); learning as habit formation	Teacher models, learners repeat chorally then individually, errors are corrected at once, correct responses are praised or rewarded, drills continue until answers are automatic.
Cognitivism	Information processing; working memory and long-term memory; schemas; Ausubel’s meaningful learning and advance organisers; cognitive load	Activation of prior knowledge, advance organisers, chunking, graphic organisers, learner strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluating), attention to how information is stored and retrieved.
Constructivism	Piaget (assimilation, accommodation, equilibration); Bruner (discovery learning, spiral curriculum)	Learners explore, hypothesise and discover rules from examples; problems come before explanations; errors are read as evidence of the learner’s current understanding.
Social constructivism (sociocultural theory)	Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), mediation, the more knowledgeable other, language as a tool for thinking; Wood, Bruner and Ross: scaffolding	Pair and group work with a shared purpose, guided questioning by the teacher, temporary supports (sentence starters, models) that are withdrawn as learners progress.
Social learning	Bandura: observation, imitation of models, self-efficacy	Teacher or peer demonstrations, success models, attention to learners’ belief that they can do the task.
Humanism	Rogers, Maslow: the whole person, affect, self-esteem, motivation, low anxiety	Safe atmosphere, learner choice, attention to feelings, self-evaluation. It underlies approaches such as Community Language Learning and Suggestopedia (chapter 5).
Connectivism / networked learning	Siemens: knowledge distributed across networks; learning as connecting information sources	Use of online communities, curation of resources and digital collaboration. Its status as a full learning theory is debated; it appears mainly in discussions of technology (chapter 8).

2.2 Five contrasts that generate most questions

Pair	The decisive difference
Assimilation vs accommodation	Assimilation fits new information into an existing schema; accommodation changes the schema because the information does not fit.
Scaffolding vs ZPD	ZPD is the gap between what a learner can do alone and with help (a concept). Scaffolding is the help given and gradually withdrawn (a teaching technique).
Reinforcement vs punishment	Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour (positive: add a reward; negative: remove an unpleasant stimulus). Punishment decreases it. Negative reinforcement is not punishment.
Discovery learning vs guided discovery	Unguided discovery gives no structure; guided discovery supplies examples, questions and checks. Novices usually need guidance (see the cognitive-load argument below).
Constructivism vs social constructivism	Piaget locates construction mainly in the individual learner’s thinking; Vygotsky locates it in interaction with others and in cultural tools, above all language.

Same vignette, three keys A teacher gives sentence starters for a debate, then removes them over several lessons. Asked “What is she doing?” the key is scaffolding. Asked “Which principle justifies it?” the key is Vygotsky’s ZPD. Asked “Which theory family is this?” the key is social constructivism. Read the question stem before the vignette.

2.3 Cognitive load and the limits of “active learning”

Cognitive load theory (Sweller) starts from a limited working memory. It distinguishes intrinsic load (the difficulty of the material itself), extraneous load (load created by poor presentation, which teaching should reduce) and germane load (effort devoted to building schemas, which teaching should support). Its practical message is that novices benefit from worked examples, clear explanation and graduated practice, while learners who already have solid schemas can profit from more open tasks. This is why “active learning” is not automatically better than direct instruction: activity is worthwhile when it makes learners think about the target content, not when it merely keeps them busy.

2.4 Learning styles and multiple intelligences

Questions sometimes offer “learning styles” (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) or Gardner’s multiple intelligences as an answer. Handle them carefully. Research has not found that matching teaching to a diagnosed learning style improves outcomes, and multiple intelligences is a descriptive framework rather than a validated instructional method. Offering varied input and activities is sound practice for engagement and accessibility; labelling learners by style and teaching to the label is not supported. If an option states that learners “learn best when taught only in their preferred style”, treat it as a distractor.

2.5 The inspector’s lens

Name the theory from evidence. In an observation report, cite behaviours (“learners repeated the model in chorus; the teacher corrected immediately”) before the label (“behaviourist routine”).
Judge fit, not fashion. A choral drill is not a fault; it is a fault if the lesson objective is communicative fluency and drilling is the only activity.
Check consistency. A teacher who announces “discovery learning” but states every rule on the board first is not applying it. Describe the gap and suggest a concrete change (for example, present examples first and ask learners to infer the rule).

Common traps. (1) Treating Skinner’s operant conditioning as classical conditioning: Pavlov’s dogs are classical. (2) Calling every group-work lesson “social constructivist”: groups that simply divide tasks are not mediating each other’s thinking. (3) Calling “gradual withdrawal of support” the ZPD: that is scaffolding. (4) Accepting “learning styles” as evidence-based.

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Area 1, second topic: theories of language acquisition. Chapter 2 asked how people learn in general; this chapter asks how people acquire a language. The card lists the topic without naming theories, so the exam can ask about any widely taught account. The questions usually take one of two forms: identify the theory behind a claim or a classroom decision, or judge whether a teaching practice fits what a theory predicts.

3.1 The main accounts of language acquisition

Account	Core claim and key names	Implication for teaching
Behaviourist	Language is a set of habits formed through imitation, repetition and reinforcement (Skinner, 1957).	Pattern drills, memorised dialogues, immediate correction (the Audiolingual Method, chapter 5).
Nativist / Universal Grammar	Humans are born with an innate language faculty; children acquire grammar despite limited input (Chomsky; the “poverty of the stimulus”). Often called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in textbooks.	Explains why acquisition is so fast in childhood; it does not by itself prescribe a classroom routine.
Krashen’s Monitor Model	Five hypotheses: acquisition vs learning; the Monitor; the natural order; input (i + 1); the affective filter.	Abundant comprehensible input slightly above the learner’s level, low anxiety, delayed demands for production.
Interaction Hypothesis	Acquisition is promoted when learners negotiate meaning in conversation (Long): clarification requests, confirmation checks, recasts.	Information-gap and problem-solving tasks, pair work, tasks that force learners to make themselves understood.
Output Hypothesis	Producing language pushes learners from meaning-based processing to grammatical processing, and lets them test hypotheses (Swain).	Speaking and writing tasks with a need to be accurate, followed by feedback.
Noticing Hypothesis	Input becomes intake only if learners consciously notice the form (Schmidt).	Consciousness-raising, textual enhancement, comparing learners’ output with a model.
Sociocultural account	Language is learned through mediated interaction in the ZPD (Vygotsky; Lantolf).	Collaborative dialogue, scaffolded speaking and writing, peer feedback.
Usage-based / connectionist	Learners extract patterns from frequent input; knowledge emerges from exposure and use (for example Ellis, Tomasello).	Large amounts of varied input, attention to frequent chunks and collocations, repetition in meaningful contexts.

3.2 Krashen’s five hypotheses, one line each

Acquisition vs learning: acquisition is subconscious and natural; learning is conscious knowledge about rules. Krashen claims that learning does not turn into acquisition.
Monitor: learned knowledge can only monitor (edit) output, and only when there is time, focus on form and knowledge of the rule.
Natural order: grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order, whatever the teaching order.
Input hypothesis (i + 1): we acquire by understanding input that contains structures a little beyond our current level.
Affective filter: anxiety, low motivation and low self-confidence block input from being processed.

Krashen’s model has been widely criticised (for example, the claim that learning never becomes acquisition is hard to test, and output and interaction seem to matter). It remains on syllabi because it shaped communicative teaching, and exam items often use it for a single decisive clue: “comprehensible input” points to Krashen, “negotiation of meaning” points to Long, “pushed output” points to Swain, “noticing” points to Schmidt.

3.3 First language and second language: what transfers

Concept	Meaning
Contrastive analysis	Predicts difficulty from differences between the first language and the target language. Strong versions have been shown to over-predict.
Error analysis	Studies learners’ actual errors (interlingual: caused by the first language; intralingual: caused by the target language, for example overgeneralisation).
Interlanguage	The learner’s evolving system between L1 and the target language (Selinker). Errors are evidence of the system, not random failures.
Fossilisation	Persistence of non-target forms despite exposure and instruction.
Critical Period Hypothesis	Claim that there is an age limit for native-like attainment. Evidence is mixed; it mainly affects pronunciation and ultimate attainment, not the ability to learn.

Match the clue to the name “Learners were asked to clarify when they did not understand each other” → negotiation of meaning (Long). “The text was slightly beyond their current level but understandable” → i + 1 (Krashen). “Learners had to write a summary and were then shown a model to compare” → output plus noticing (Swain, Schmidt). “Children produce goed and mouses” → overgeneralisation, an intralingual error showing rule learning.

3.4 The inspector’s lens

Input, interaction, output. In an observed lesson, ask three questions: Was there enough comprehensible input? Did learners interact to make meaning? Did they produce language and receive feedback? A lesson strong in only one of the three has a predictable weakness.
Error treatment. An error that comes from the first language needs contrast and awareness; an overgeneralisation needs examples of the exception; a slip (a mistake the learner can self-correct) usually needs only a prompt. A teacher who corrects all three in the same way is not diagnosing.
Affect. A silent class is not necessarily a disciplined class; check whether anxiety (the affective filter) explains the lack of participation, and whether the teacher builds in low-stakes oral practice such as pair rehearsal before speaking to the class.

Common traps. (1) “Chomsky proposed a teaching method”: he did not; his theory is about the mind. (2) Treating Krashen’s “learning” as “studying English”: for him it means conscious rule knowledge. (3) Calling every error a mistake caused by the mother tongue. (4) Believing that an early start is the only factor: motivation, quantity and quality of input and the learning context all matter.

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Area 1, third topic (part 1): Universal Design for Learning, standards-based education and the competency-based approach. These three frameworks sit at the front of the card’s list and share a feature: they are less about how to teach a point of English and more about how to design a course. They answer three different questions. UDL asks: “How do we design so that every learner can take part?” Standards-based education asks: “What exactly must learners reach, and how do we know?” The competency-based approach asks: “Can learners actually do something with what they know?”

4.1 Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

UDL is a framework developed by CAST. Its starting point is that learner variability is the norm, and that most barriers lie in the design of materials, methods and assessments, not in the learner. It asks the teacher to plan options in advance rather than to adapt after a learner fails.

UDL principle	The learning question	Examples in an English lesson
Multiple means of engagement	The “why”	Choice of topic or text; goals the learners help set; tasks of different challenge levels; building routines that reduce anxiety; feedback that supports effort.
Multiple means of representation	The “what”	Reading text plus audio; vocabulary with pictures and gestures; captions on video; graphic organisers; key terms pre-taught.
Multiple means of action and expression	The “how”	Learners answer by speaking, writing, drawing, choosing or performing; sentence frames; checklists and models; tools for planning and self-monitoring.

UDL aims at “expert learners”: purposeful and motivated, resourceful and knowledgeable, strategic and goal-directed.

UDL	Differentiated instruction (DI)
Designs options for everyone at the planning stage (proactive).	The teacher adjusts content, process, product or environment in response to identified readiness, interest or profile (often reactive).
The curriculum is flexible; learners choose the route that suits them.	The teacher often assigns different routes to different groups.
Reduces the number of later adaptations needed.	May still require individual adaptations for specific learners.

4.2 Standards-based education

In a standards-based system the starting point is a published set of standards: statements of what learners should know and be able to do by the end of a stage. Teaching, assessment and reporting are then aligned with those standards.

Content standards describe what is to be learned; performance standards describe how well, and with what evidence.
Assessment is criterion-referenced: a learner is judged against the standard, not against classmates (which would be norm-referenced).
Backward design (Wiggins and McTighe) is the usual planning route: (1) identify desired results; (2) decide what evidence would show them; (3) plan the learning experiences.
In language teaching, “can-do” descriptors (for example the proficiency levels of the Common European Framework of Reference, CEFR) work as standards. A lesson aim written as “learners can ask for and give directions” is a standard-style statement; “the teacher will teach prepositions” is not.

4.3 The competency-based approach (CBA)

A competency is the ability to mobilise a set of resources (knowledge, skills, attitudes) to carry out a family of complex tasks in a meaningful situation. The focus moves from what the teacher covers to what the learner can do. In language teaching this line of thought is known as competency-based language teaching.

Feature	Objectives-based teaching	Competency-based approach
Unit of planning	Discrete, observable behaviours (“write three sentences with because”)	An integrated performance in a situation (“write an email to a host family arranging a visit”)
Role of resources	Learned and tested one by one	Learned, then combined in integration tasks
Assessment	Items matched to each objective	Performance judged with criteria (for example relevance, accuracy, coherence, correct use of resources)
Risk	Fragmentation: pieces learned, whole not achieved	Weak foundations if resources are not taught first

Three frameworks, three vocabularies Barriers, options, means of engagement → UDL. Aligned outcomes, criterion-referenced, backward design, can-do → standards-based. Mobilise resources, situation, complex task, integration → competency-based. When a vignette combines vocabulary from two, answer the question being asked: “What is the framework for inclusion?” is UDL, “…for alignment of outcomes and evidence?” is standards-based, “…for real-world performance?” is CBA.

4.4 How the three fit together

They are not rivals. A coherent course can state its outcomes as standards (what is to be reached), design its units and assessments around competencies (integrated performances), and apply UDL to make the route accessible. Problems appear when a school adopts the vocabulary without the practice: standards written but not used in lessons; “competency” used for any activity; UDL reduced to “using pictures”.

4.5 The inspector’s lens

Alignment check. Take the lesson aim, the main activity and the assessment task. Do they refer to the same skill, at the same level? An aim of “speaking about daily routines” with a gap-fill test fails alignment.
Competency check. Is the task complex and situated? Do learners have to select and combine resources, or just apply the one rule just taught? Are criteria shared with learners beforehand?
UDL check. Can learners access the content and show what they know in more than one way? What happens for a learner who cannot read the text aloud, or who needs more time?
Evidence in feedback. A good report cites what was observed and proposes one concrete change per framework gap, for example: “add an option to answer orally or in writing”.

Common traps. (1) Treating UDL as a special-needs programme: it is a design framework for all learners. (2) Saying DI and UDL are the same: one is proactive design, the other responsive adaptation. (3) Calling any activity a “competency” because it uses a real-life topic. (4) Confusing criterion-referenced assessment (against a standard) with norm-referenced assessment (against other learners).

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Area 1, third topic (part 2): communicative language teaching, task-based language teaching and the traditional methods. The card names CLT and TBLT, then lists four traditional methods (Suggestopedia, the Silent Way, Grammar Translation, the Audiolingual Method) followed by “etc.”. The “etc.” is a warning that other classical methods can appear, so this chapter adds the Direct Method, Total Physical Response and Community Language Learning. Method questions almost always give a short description with one or two decisive clues. Learn the clues, not the history.

5.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

Goal: communicative competence. This extends Chomsky’s grammatical competence with Hymes’s notion of appropriateness, and is usually described by Canale and Swain as grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence.
Principles: meaning comes first; real communication needs an information gap, a choice and feedback; fluency and accuracy both matter; learners use the language for purposes; errors are tolerated as part of development; the teacher facilitates.
Typical sequence: a lesson often moves from presentation to controlled, then freer practice, and ends with communicative production. Strong CLT lessons keep a balance and do not stop after drilling forms.
Weak vs strong CLT: weak CLT adds communicative practice to a grammar syllabus (“learn to use English”); strong CLT holds that language is acquired through communication (“use English to learn it”). Task-based teaching is often presented as a strong form.

5.2 Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

A task has four features: the focus is on meaning; there is some kind of gap (information, opinion, reasoning); learners rely on their own linguistic resources; and there is a clear, non-linguistic outcome (for example a plan, a list, a decision, a poster). Language is the means, not the aim.

Stage (Willis’s framework)	What happens
Pre-task	Introduce topic and task; activate vocabulary; learners may watch a model performance.
Task cycle	Task (learners work in pairs or groups); planning (they prepare to report); report (they present to the class).
Language focus	Analysis and practice of forms that arose during the task, after meaning has been dealt with.

PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production)	TBLT
Form is chosen first and taught, then practised in controlled exercises, then used in freer production.	The task comes first; form is addressed afterwards, in response to what learners needed or got wrong.
Teacher decides the target language in advance.	Target language is not fully predictable, although the task type shapes likely forms.
Risk: “production” becomes a disguised drill.	Risk: learners complete the task with minimal, inaccurate language if there is no later focus on form.

5.3 The traditional methods: decisive clues

Method	Decisive clues	Often confused with
Grammar-Translation	Rules explained in the mother tongue; translation of sentences and literary texts; reading and writing; vocabulary lists; accuracy; the teacher is the authority.	—
Direct Method	Target language only; no translation; meaning through objects, pictures and demonstration; question-and-answer in the target language; grammar taught inductively.	Audiolingual Method
Audiolingual Method (ALM)	Behaviourist: dialogue memorisation, repetition, substitution and transformation drills, immediate correction, habit formation, accuracy of pronunciation and structure.	Direct Method; CLT
Silent Way (Gattegno)	Teacher speaks as little as possible; coloured rods and the sound-colour chart; learners discover and self-correct; learner responsibility.	Total Physical Response
Suggestopedia (Lozanov)	Relaxing environment, soft music, comfortable seating, posters on the walls; a new identity for learners; long dialogues presented in two readings (the “concert session”); the aim is to lower psychological barriers.	Community Language Learning
Total Physical Response (Asher)	Teacher gives commands, learners respond with actions; comprehension before speaking; no pressure to speak early.	Silent Way
Community Language Learning (Curran)	Counselling-learning: learners decide what to say, the teacher (“knower”) translates and supports; recorded conversations, then analysed; security and belonging.	Suggestopedia

Two umbrella terms help when a question asks about “approach” versus “method”. In Anthony’s classic distinction, an approach is a set of beliefs about language and learning, a method is an organised plan for presenting language material based on an approach, and a technique is a specific classroom activity. For example: behaviourist learning theory (approach), the Audiolingual Method (method), a substitution drill (technique).

The decisive clue is often one word “Coloured rods” → Silent Way. “Baroque music, relaxation” → Suggestopedia. “Commands and actions” → TPR. “Translate the passage into Arabic” → Grammar-Translation. “Substitution drill” → ALM. “Learners record their conversation, then analyse it” → Community Language Learning. “Information gap” or “negotiation of meaning” → CLT. “Pre-task, report, language focus” → TBLT.

5.4 Is there a best method?

Modern teaching is usually described as post-method: no single method is best in every context. Teachers choose principled techniques from several traditions according to learners’ needs, objectives and constraints. Features of older methods persist for good reasons: repetition and controlled practice help automatisation, translation can clarify abstract vocabulary, a calm environment lowers anxiety. The skill the exam tests is justifying a choice, not rejecting methods wholesale.

5.5 The inspector’s lens

Describe before labelling. Write the observable steps first. Then say which tradition they resemble, and whether it fits the stated lesson aim.
Fit between aim and method. A lesson claiming to develop speaking fluency but made only of choral repetition has a mismatch to discuss tactfully with the teacher.
Constructive feedback. Suggest a modest change: keep the drill but add an information-gap task afterwards; add a post-task language focus; allow some L1 use to check understanding.

Common traps. (1) Mixing up the Silent Way (teacher silent, rods) and Suggestopedia (music, relaxation). (2) Assuming CLT means no grammar; it means grammar in the service of meaning. (3) Assuming TBLT has no form focus. (4) Treating PPP as the same as TBLT. (5) Confusing the Direct Method (no L1, inductive) with the Audiolingual Method (drills, behaviourist).

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Area 1, fourth topic: teaching language skills and components. The card lists “teaching language skills/components” as one item. It covers the four skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing) and the language components (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation). The questions here are practical: sequence a lesson, choose the right activity for a skill, treat an error, or judge a lesson stage. This chapter gives a working model for each and the typical observation points.

6.1 A common lesson frame for receptive skills

Stage	Purpose	Typical activities
Pre- (reading or listening)	Activate schemata, create a reason to read or listen, pre-teach only the vocabulary that blocks understanding.	Predicting from title and pictures, brainstorming, a short discussion, a gist question to set a purpose.
While-	Develop the target sub-skill with a task that matches how people really read or listen.	Gist then detail; skimming; scanning; matching; true/false with justification; sequencing; note-taking.
Post-	Respond to the text and connect it to the learners; reuse language.	Discussion of opinions, a summary, a role play, writing based on the text, noticing useful phrases.

6.2 Reading and listening

Bottom-up processing builds meaning from letters, words and sentences; top-down processing uses prior knowledge and expectations; skilled readers and listeners use both (an interactive model).
Reading sub-skills: skimming (gist), scanning (a specific item), reading for detail, inferring, understanding reference and discourse markers. Intensive reading is close study of a short text; extensive reading is large amounts of easy, enjoyable reading.
Question types: literal (answer is stated), inferential (answer is implied), evaluative (learner’s judgement). A set of questions consisting only of literal items trains copying, not comprehension.
Listening is real-time and cannot be re-read; difficulty comes from speed, accent, connected speech (weak forms, elision) and unfamiliar words. Teach strategies (predicting, listening for stress, tolerating unknown words) and allow more than one listening, with a different task each time.
Authentic or graded input? Authentic texts expose learners to real language; graded texts ensure success. A common compromise is authentic text with an achievable task.

6.3 Speaking

Distinction	Meaning and classroom consequence
Accuracy vs fluency	Accuracy: correct form. Fluency: smooth, meaningful flow. Plan both: controlled practice for accuracy, free tasks for fluency.
Controlled, guided, free	Controlled: scripted or drilled. Guided: a frame or prompts. Free: learners decide what to say. Most lessons need a progression through the three.
Activity types	Information gap, jigsaw, role play, interview, problem-solving, opinion exchange, simulation, presentation.
Error correction timing	Immediate correction suits accuracy work; delayed correction (the teacher notes errors and addresses them afterwards) protects fluency.

Typical weaknesses in observed lessons: the teacher speaks most of the time; the same few learners answer; pair work with no clear outcome; correction of every error, which suppresses speaking.

6.4 Writing

Approach	Focus and procedure
Product approach	Learners study a model text, practise its features, then write a similar one. Strong on form and accuracy; weaker on generating ideas.
Process approach	Writing as a cycle: planning (ideas), drafting, revising (content and organisation), editing (language), publishing; with feedback from peers or the teacher between drafts.
Genre approach	Learners analyse the purpose, structure and language of a text type (email, report, review, argumentative essay) and then produce it.

Feedback: separate content and organisation feedback from language feedback; avoid red-pen correction of everything; use codes (for example “T” for tense, “Sp” for spelling) so that learners correct their own errors.
Text types met in secondary school include descriptive, narrative, expository and argumentative writing, as well as emails and proposals. The inspector must be able to tell whether a task and its rubric fit the text type.

6.5 Teaching grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation

Component	Key ideas
Grammar	Teach form, meaning and use. Deductive: rule first, then examples. Inductive / guided discovery: examples first, learners infer the rule. Practise from controlled to meaningful, then communicative. Use focus on form (brief attention to form inside a meaning-based activity) rather than isolated rule lessons only.
Vocabulary	Knowing a word means meaning, form (spelling, sound), use (collocations, register). Distinguish receptive from productive vocabulary. Words need recycling: multiple meaningful encounters, spaced over time. Teach chunks and collocations, not only single words. Choose words by frequency and need.
Pronunciation	Segmental features (individual sounds) and suprasegmental features (stress, rhythm, intonation). For most learners the goal is intelligibility, not a native accent; suprasegmentals often affect intelligibility more than individual sounds.

6.6 Integrating skills

Real communication mixes skills: listening before speaking, reading before writing. Integrated lessons (for example read an advertisement, discuss it, write a reply) give a purpose to each stage and make the lesson coherent. A lesson where each activity is unrelated to the one before it lacks a thread; a good inspection report points out that thread or the lack of one.

Sequencing is a favourite question “Put these stages of a reading lesson in order” (prediction → gist task → detailed task → follow-up discussion) and “where would pre-teaching vocabulary go?” (pre-reading, and only the words that block gist). If an option teaches all new words first, treat it with suspicion.

6.7 The inspector’s lens

Teacher talking time versus learner talking time: estimate both; propose pair work with a clear outcome.
Task authenticity: do learners read and listen for a reason, or only to answer questions?
Error policy: is correction suited to the activity’s aim (accuracy or fluency)?
Progression: does the lesson move from input to practice to production?

Common traps. (1) Confusing skimming (gist) with scanning (specific information). (2) Treating “deductive” as “bad”: it is efficient for some structures and some learners. (3) Saying the process approach has no models: it uses models, but after learners have generated ideas. (4) Assuming good pronunciation means a native accent.

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Area 1, fifth and seventh topics: classroom management, and teaching young learners with diverse profiles. The card lists “classroom management” and, separately, “teaching young learners: dealing with diverse learner profiles, characteristics, challenges and opportunities”. They are treated together because both ask the same practical question: how is the classroom organised so that different learners can learn? The questions describe a situation and ask what the teacher should do, or what an inspector should recommend.

7.1 Classroom management: the main dimensions

Dimension	What good practice looks like
Space	Seating that fits the activity (rows for presentation, pairs or groups for tasks, a U-shape for discussion); everyone can see the board; the teacher can circulate.
Time	Clear stages with realistic timing; a plan for early finishers; transitions that do not waste minutes.
Interaction patterns	Whole class, individual, pair work, group work, mingling. Choose the pattern for the aim: pairs for maximum speaking time, groups for collaborative tasks.
Instructions	Short, sequenced, demonstrated (“show, don’t just tell”); checked with concept-checking questions (“Who will you talk to? How long do you have?”).
Routines and rules	Few, clear, taught and used consistently; positive reinforcement of expected behaviour; calm, predictable responses to misbehaviour.
Teacher roles	Controller, organiser, prompter, participant, resource, assessor, observer (Harmer’s classic list). The role should change with the stage.

7.2 Handling common problems

Situation	Preventive and responsive steps
Large class (more than 40 learners)	Fixed pairs and groups with roles, choral and pair rehearsal before individual speaking, tasks with written outcomes that can be checked later, group leaders, a seating plan.
Mixed-ability class	Open-ended tasks with several routes, tiered support (frames, word banks), peer tutoring, extension tasks, flexible grouping that does not label learners permanently.
Reluctance to speak	Low-stakes rehearsal in pairs, speaking after writing, sentence frames, praising effort, avoiding public correction of errors in fluency work.
Disruptive behaviour	Find the cause (boredom, difficulty, attention need); move closer, use a quiet reminder, then a private conversation; follow the school’s procedures; keep dignity intact.
Overuse of the mother tongue	Set clear moments for each language; give the language needed to do the task in English; use L1 purposefully (to clarify, to compare) rather than banning it entirely.

7.3 Diverse learner profiles

The word profile covers differences in proficiency, prior knowledge, motivation, confidence, attention, language background, family context and special educational needs. The practical response is not to diagnose labels but to plan for variability: provide multiple ways to access content and to show learning (chapter 4, UDL), build scaffolds into the task, and observe learners to see what helps.

Inclusion: learners with special needs (for example dyslexia, attention difficulties, hearing or visual impairment) follow the same curriculum with adjusted access and expression: larger print, extra time, oral responses, clear and uncluttered materials.
Gifted or fast learners: extension, depth and autonomy rather than more of the same work.
Learners with low confidence or anxiety: predictable routines, tasks that guarantee success, specific praise, and avoidance of comparison with classmates.

7.4 Young learners: characteristics, challenges, opportunities

Characteristic	Teaching consequence
Short attention span, high energy	Short activities (5 to 10 minutes), frequent changes of activity, movement, songs, games.
Learn through doing, play and the senses	Total Physical Response, craft, drawing, role play, realia, stories.
Need for stable routines and emotional security	Predictable lesson shape, simple instructions, immediate positive feedback.
Concrete thinking; limited metalanguage	Teach through examples and use; avoid abstract grammar explanations.
Strong imitation and willingness to try	Rich, clear oral input; chants and rhymes; low pressure for accuracy.
Wide differences in development	Flexible tasks; avoid fixed ability labels.

Cameron (2001) and Pinter (2017) are standard references on young learners. The card does not say which age range it means. In a middle-school context, “young learners” would typically be younger adolescents at the start of the cycle, who sit between childhood and mature adolescence: they still enjoy games and concrete tasks, but are increasingly sensitive to peer judgement and to public correction. Answer in the sense the question gives; if the age is not stated, say what age you assume.

“What should the teacher do?” questions Prefer answers that are preventive and specific (change the grouping, give a model, set a clear outcome) over answers that are only reactive and general (“punish”, “ignore”, “explain again louder”). For a class that finishes at different speeds, the key is tasks with extension, not extra homework as punishment.

7.5 The inspector’s lens

Participation map: who speaks in the lesson? A few learners dominate; others never take part. Recommend mechanisms (pair work first, names drawn at random, group roles).
Instruction check: were instructions understood, and how did the teacher check?
Inclusion check: can a learner who needs more time or another mode of response still succeed?
Tone: management is also relationship. Observe how correction and praise are delivered.

Common traps. (1) Believing management means silence and order only; productive noise is part of communicative work. (2) Recommending the same support for all “weak” learners without finding out why they are struggling. (3) Banning the mother tongue absolutely. (4) Treating young-learner techniques (songs, games) as childish and therefore unsuitable at middle school: used with a purpose, they motivate.

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Area 1, sixth topic: technology in language teaching. The card names it as “theories/models, gaming, using apps in teaching, AI in language teaching, etc.”. Expect three kinds of question: identify a model from a description (SAMR, TPACK), judge whether a technology use adds pedagogical value, and discuss opportunities and risks of AI. The common thread is a single principle: pedagogy first, tool second.

8.1 Phases of computer-assisted language learning (CALL)

Phase (Warschauer and Healey)	Approach it matches	Typical technology and activity
Behaviouristic CALL (1950s to 1970s)	Behaviourism, drills	Computer as a tutor: repetitive drills, immediate feedback.
Communicative CALL (1970s to 1980s)	Communicative teaching	Programs that encourage discovery and expression: text reconstruction, simulations, games; computer as a stimulus for talk.
Integrative CALL (from the 1990s)	Task- and project-based, sociocultural	Multimedia, the internet and communication tools integrated into authentic tasks: email exchanges, web research, collaborative writing, video.

Later accounts add mobile, social-media-based and AI-assisted learning as further developments. The principle is the same across phases: the technology reflects the view of language learning that prevails when it is designed.

8.2 Two models for judging technology use

SAMR (Puentedura) describes four levels of integration:

Level	Meaning	Example in English teaching
Substitution	Technology replaces an old tool with no functional change.	Typing an essay instead of handwriting it.
Augmentation	Replacement with functional improvement.	Using a word processor’s dictionary and spell-check; recording audio and playing it back.
Modification	Significant redesign of the task.	Learners co-write and comment on a shared document with peer feedback.
Redefinition	A task that was previously inconceivable.	Learners make a podcast or video for a real audience abroad and respond to its comments.

The first two levels are often called enhancement and the last two transformation. Higher is not always better: some learning goals are well served by a simple substitution.

TPACK (Mishra and Koehler) says effective teaching with technology needs three kinds of knowledge and their intersections: content knowledge (C), pedagogical knowledge (P) and technological knowledge (T). The central idea is the intersection (TPACK) where the teacher chooses a tool because it supports a specific content and pedagogy, not because it is available.

8.3 Games, gamification and apps

Term	Meaning
Game-based learning	Using a game, digital or not, whose play itself requires the target learning (for example a vocabulary board game, a role-playing simulation).
Gamification	Adding game elements (points, badges, levels, leaderboards) to a non-game activity to increase engagement.
Flipped classroom	Input (video, reading) at home; class time used for practice and interaction.
Blended learning	A planned mix of face-to-face teaching and online activity.
Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL)	Use of phones and tablets for learning, including outside class.

Points of caution on gamification: extrinsic rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation if they replace interest; leaderboards can discourage weaker learners; the game must serve a learning goal.
Choosing an app: What is the learning aim? Does the app give feedback that helps? Is the language accurate and level-appropriate? Is the data of minors protected? Is it accessible to learners without personal devices or fast internet? Is there a non-digital alternative?

8.4 Artificial intelligence in language teaching

Possible uses	Cautions and limits
Generating texts, examples, gap-fills and quiz items at different levels.	Output can be inaccurate, generic or culturally inappropriate; the teacher must check it before use.
Feedback on writing (grammar, coherence, style) and speaking practice with a conversational agent.	Feedback may be wrong or too generous; learners may accept changes without understanding them.
Speech recognition and pronunciation practice; adaptive practice; translation and dictionary support.	Accents and non-standard speech are recognised unevenly; over-reliance on translation may reduce learning.
Planning support for teachers (draft lesson plans, rubrics, differentiated versions).	Plans need the teacher’s judgement about the actual class and the curriculum.

Issues an inspector should be able to discuss: accuracy and hallucination; bias in training data; privacy and protection of learners’ data, especially minors; academic integrity (learners submitting machine-written work); over-reliance and loss of productive struggle; unequal access (the digital divide); transparency about when AI is used; and the need to redesign assessment (for example more in-class and process-based tasks, oral defence of written work). The sound position is balanced: AI is a tool whose use should be guided, taught explicitly (AI literacy) and kept under the teacher’s professional judgement; it neither replaces the teacher nor should be banned without consideration.

Add value or just add technology? A question may describe a teacher who projects the textbook page instead of reading from it. That is substitution: it saves nothing pedagogically. The stronger answer asks what the technology allows that the task could not do before (recording and comparing pronunciation, collaboration at distance, immediate feedback on drafts). When asked to evaluate a use, name the SAMR level, the learning aim and one improvement.

8.5 The inspector’s lens

Purpose: does the technology serve the stated aim, or is it decoration?
Equity: what about learners without a device or connection? Is there a fallback?
Teacher knowledge: advise using TPACK: start from the content and the pedagogy, then pick the tool.
Data and integrity: flag use of apps that collect personal data, and the need for clear rules on AI-assisted work.

Common traps. (1) Equating digital with innovative: a worksheet on a screen is a substitution. (2) Using “gamification” for any game. (3) Treating AI feedback as authoritative. (4) Confusing TPACK (a knowledge framework for teachers) with SAMR (a scale of task transformation).

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Area 2 — Managing, assessing and evaluating learning and resources

Area 2, first part: materials, language testing and test design. Area 2 moves from the teacher’s methods to the instruments an inspector must judge. This chapter treats the first three topics of the card: language teaching materials (development, evaluation and adaptation), models and principles of language testing and assessment, and test specifications and test design (with a sample reading test as the card’s example). The vocabulary here is precise and tested: validity, reliability, washback, specifications, item types.

9.1 Language teaching materials: development, evaluation, adaptation

Evaluation of a coursebook or set of materials can be predictive (before use, from the table of contents, sample units and teacher’s guide), in-use (while teaching) or retrospective (after use, with learners’ and teachers’ views). A good checklist covers:

Criterion	Questions to ask
Fit with curriculum and learners	Do the contents match the official programme, the learners’ level, age, interests and context?
Language	Is the language accurate and natural? Is the grammar and vocabulary progression sensible? Is there recycling?
Skills and tasks	Are all four skills developed? Are tasks communicative, varied and graded? Do reading and listening texts have a purpose?
Content and values	Is the content relevant and free of stereotypes? Does it recognise learners’ own culture alongside the target culture?
Assessment and support	Does it provide for feedback, review and self-assessment? Is there a teacher’s guide?
Practicalities	Cost, layout, durability, availability of audio and digital components.

Adaptation techniques (commonly listed in the literature, for example by McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara): adding (extend with extra input or practice), deleting or omitting, modifying (rewriting a task or changing its focus), simplifying, reordering (changing the sequence). Adaptation aims at fit with learners, not at changing the textbook for its own sake.

Development: principled materials writing starts from learners’ needs and the aims, offers rich and meaningful language exposure, engages learners cognitively and affectively, and includes opportunities to use language (Tomlinson). Authenticity can apply to the text (a real text) and to the task (a task that resembles real use).

9.2 Language testing and assessment: models and principles

Principle	Meaning and a practical check
Validity	The test measures what it claims to measure and supports the use made of the scores. Content validity: items sample the syllabus. Construct validity: the skill defined is the skill tested. Face validity: it looks right to learners and teachers. A listening test that requires reading long options is partly testing reading.
Reliability	Consistency of results across occasions and markers. Increased by clear instructions, enough items, objective scoring or marking schemes and rater training. A reliable test can be invalid, but an unreliable test cannot be valid.
Practicality	Time, cost, administration and scoring effort.
Authenticity	The test tasks resemble real language use.
Washback (backwash)	The effect of a test on teaching and learning. Positive washback encourages good practice (a speaking test makes teachers teach speaking); negative washback narrows teaching to the test.
Fairness / accessibility	No bias for or against groups; accessible to learners with special needs; clear criteria known beforehand.

Bachman and Palmer describe test usefulness as a balance of reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactiveness, impact and practicality. No test maximises all of them; the balance depends on purpose.

Distinction	Meaning
Formative vs summative	Formative assessment supports learning in progress; summative judges attainment at the end of a unit or course.
Diagnostic, placement, achievement, proficiency	Diagnostic: identifies strengths and weaknesses. Placement: sorts learners into levels. Achievement: tests what was taught. Proficiency: tests general ability, independent of a course.
Criterion-referenced vs norm-referenced	Criterion: scores are compared with a defined standard. Norm: scores are compared with other test-takers.
Direct vs indirect; discrete-point vs integrative	Direct tests ask learners to do the skill (write an essay). Indirect tests assess a related subskill (a grammar test to estimate writing). Discrete-point items test one element at a time; integrative tasks (dictation, cloze, essays) require several at once.
Objective vs subjective scoring	Multiple-choice items are scored objectively; essays and speaking are scored with a rating scale.

9.3 Test specifications and test design

Test specifications (specs) are the blueprint of a test: they state its purpose and test-takers, the construct and skills to be assessed, text types and sources, the number and type of items, timing, scoring method and weighting, and sample items. Specs are what let different forms of the test be comparable and the test be reviewed.

Step	Example for a reading test
Purpose and test-takers	End-of-term achievement test for 2nd-year middle-school learners.
Construct (what is read)	Understanding gist and detail; inferring meaning of words; recognising reference.
Texts	One narrative of about 250 words and one short informational text; adapted authentic; level fixed by the programme.
Item types	Matching headings, true/false with justification, multiple choice, short answers, gap-fill summary.
Number and weighting	For example 12 items, marks per item stated, with total.
Scoring	Answer key and marking scheme; policy for partial credit and spelling.

Item-writing rules: test one point per item; use clear language that is easier than the text; avoid “none of the above” overuse; make distractors plausible but definitely wrong; avoid giving the answer away through length or grammar; do not let items depend on one another; check that the answer cannot be guessed without reading.

Rubrics for writing and speaking: analytic scales score separate criteria (content, organisation, language, mechanics); holistic scales give one overall score. Analytic scales give more diagnostic information; holistic scales are faster. Descriptors should be observable, and scorers need shared samples.

9.4 Feedback and assessment follow-up

Feedback is useful when it is specific, timely, linked to criteria and gives a next step (Hattie and Timperley: where am I going, how am I going, where to next).
Follow-up means using assessment results: analyse errors across the class, group learners by difficulty, plan remedial and extension work, re-teach what most learners missed, and re-test.
Item analysis uses simple statistics: the facility value (the proportion answering correctly) and the discrimination (whether strong test-takers do better than weak ones). Items that nearly everyone answers correctly, or that strong learners fail more often, need revision.

Validity or reliability? “Two markers gave very different scores to the same paragraph” → reliability (scoring consistency). “The speaking test consisted of a written grammar quiz” → validity (it does not measure speaking). “Teachers started to teach only past exam formats” → negative washback. “The exam samples the units taught” → content validity.

9.5 The inspector’s lens

Review a classroom test against the specs: does it match what was taught and the stated objectives, with a clear marking scheme?
Judge a coursebook unit with a written checklist and give evidence for each judgement (page, task, example).
Advise on adaptation: propose what to add, delete or modify, with reasons linked to learners’ needs.

Common traps. (1) Confusing reliability with validity. (2) Saying a longer test is always more valid. (3) Treating formative assessment as “a small test”: it is defined by its use for learning. (4) Thinking multiple choice cannot test understanding: it can, if items are well written, but it cannot test productive skills directly.

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Area 2, second part: standardized tests, evaluating policies and curricula, and the educational-sciences component. The card’s last topics are “standardized tests (Bac exam, PIRLS and PISA)” and “evaluating educational policies and curricula”. They ask for system-level judgement: what national and international tests are for, what they can and cannot tell us, and how a curriculum or policy is evaluated. The chapter then points to the Arabic-language educational-sciences component, gives a glossary, and ends with the references and the unit’s limits.

10.1 What “standardized” means

A standardized test is administered and scored in the same way for all test-takers (same instructions, timing, conditions and marking scheme), so that results can be compared. Standardization supports reliability and fairness; it can reduce authenticity and may produce negative washback if teaching narrows to the test. The key questions to ask of any such test are: What is it for? Who is tested? What does it measure? What decisions are made from the scores?

10.2 Three tests, three purposes

	National baccalaureate exam	PIRLS	PISA
Organiser	The national education authority.	IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement).	OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
Purpose	Certification and selection: a high-stakes exam for individual learners at the end of secondary school.	System monitoring of reading achievement; no individual results.	System monitoring of the use of knowledge and skills; no individual results.
Population	Learners in the final year of the upper-secondary cycle.	Learners in the fourth year of schooling (about age 10).	15-year-olds in school.
Basis	The national curriculum (curriculum-based).	A common reading framework: reading for literary experience and for acquiring and using information; processes from retrieving explicit information to evaluating text.	Not tied to national curricula: it tests how well 15-year-olds can apply reading, mathematics and science to real-life problems.
Cycle	Annual.	Every five years.	Every three years (periodic).
What results are used for	Certificates and access to higher education.	Policy debate on reading instruction and comparison of systems.	International comparison and policy debate on competences for life.

This chapter does not describe the format or content of the Moroccan baccalaureate English paper: the official framework document was not consulted for this unit. If you are asked to analyse that exam, work from the official reference framework and sample papers, and apply the principles of chapter 9 (specifications, validity, reliability, washback).

Curriculum-based or literacy-based? A national exam is built from what the programme says should be taught (achievement). PISA is built from what young people need to be able to do with knowledge (literacy), whatever the programme. PIRLS sits in between: a defined reading framework, not a national syllabus. When a question asks “which of these results tell us about the effectiveness of a national curriculum?”, the national exam and PIRLS are closer to it than PISA; when it asks “how well do learners apply reading to unfamiliar real-life texts?”, PISA is the focus.

Using international results with care: rankings depend on sampling, language of testing, curriculum match and context; a rank is not a cause. Better practice looks at sub-scores (for example, the share of low performers), trends over time, and the relation between results and school and home factors.

10.3 Evaluating curricula and educational policies

Three levels of curriculum help structure any evaluation (IEA’s classical distinction): the intended curriculum (what official documents state), the implemented curriculum (what teachers actually teach) and the attained curriculum (what learners actually learn). Evaluation looks for gaps between them.

Model or set of criteria	Content
CIPP model (Stufflebeam)	Four kinds of evaluation: Context (needs and goals), Input (plans and resources), Process (implementation), Product (outcomes). Useful because it covers the whole cycle from planning to results.
Evaluation criteria widely used for programmes and policies	Relevance (does it meet needs?), coherence (does it fit with other policies and the curriculum?), effectiveness (are objectives achieved?), efficiency (are resources used well?), impact, sustainability, and equity (who benefits?).
Formative vs summative evaluation	Formative: during development, to improve. Summative: at the end, to judge worth or decide continuation.
Sources of evidence	Document analysis (alignment of aims, content, activities, assessment), classroom observation, interviews and surveys of teachers and learners, learner outcomes (tests, projects), examination results, indicators over time (enrolment, repetition, dropout, pass rates).

Evaluating an English curriculum typically examines: clarity of aims and level descriptors; alignment between objectives, activities, materials and assessment; progression across years; balance of skills; time allocation; teacher preparation and resources; equity of access; and evidence of learner attainment. Evaluating a policy asks the same questions at system level, with the added question of whether the intended change actually reached classrooms (the implementation gap).

10.4 The inspector’s lens

Read results with context. A school’s low pass rate may reflect intake, resources or time, not only teaching. Compare like with like and look at trends.
Trace alignment. Pick one objective in the programme and follow it through textbook tasks, lesson activities and the end-of-term test. Report where the thread breaks.
Separate evidence from opinion in reports, and propose a limited number of priorities.

10.5 Component 1: educational sciences (in Arabic)

The first component (20% of the test) is in Arabic, with a text followed by questions or open questions. Its three domains and weights come from the card; the platform’s units cover them.

Domain (card)	Weight	Subdomains named by the card
Educational psychology	35%	Psychological foundations of pedagogical approaches · development and knowledge acquisition · learning difficulties and obstacles · intelligence and emotions
Sociology of education and educational social psychology	35%	Functions of the school · determinants of school success and failure · the class group and group dynamics · professional identity
Assessment	30%	Quantitative and qualitative measurement · educational evaluation · tests and psychometric instruments · evaluation of professional performance

10.6 Glossary

Term	Short definition
Affective filter	Emotional barrier (anxiety, low motivation) that limits input processing (Krashen).
Backward design	Planning from desired results to evidence to learning activities.
Comprehensible input	Input slightly above the learner’s level that is nonetheless understood (i + 1).
Criterion-referenced	Assessment against a defined standard.
Facility value	The proportion of test-takers who answer an item correctly.
Focus on form	Brief attention to a language form inside a meaning-based activity.
Formative assessment	Assessment used to improve learning in progress.
Information gap	A task in which learners hold different information and must exchange it.
Interlanguage	The learner’s evolving system between L1 and the target language.
Negotiation of meaning	Interaction to repair misunderstanding (clarification, confirmation checks).
Scaffolding	Temporary support gradually withdrawn as the learner becomes independent.
SAMR	Levels of technology integration: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition.
Task (in TBLT)	A meaning-focused activity with a gap and a non-linguistic outcome.
TPACK	Teacher knowledge combining technology, pedagogy and content.
Validity / reliability	Measuring what is intended / measuring consistently.
Washback	The influence of a test on teaching and learning.
ZPD	Zone of Proximal Development: what a learner can do with help but not yet alone.

10.7 References and limits of this unit

The only official source used is the CNEE cards for English (middle school), July 2025. The works below are standard references on which the definitions rest. They were not re-opened one by one for this unit: check the exact edition, year and page before using any of them as a citation in a written answer.

Topic	Standard references
Learning and acquisition (chapters 2 and 3)	Vygotsky, Mind in Society (1978); Krashen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition (1982); Long (1996) on the Interaction Hypothesis; Swain (1985) on output; Schmidt (1990) on noticing; Sweller on cognitive load; Selinker (1972) on interlanguage.
Approaches and methods (chapters 4 and 5)	Richards and Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (3rd ed., 2014); Larsen-Freeman and Anderson, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (3rd ed., 2011); Willis, A Framework for Task-Based Learning (1996); Ellis, Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching (2003); Wiggins and McTighe, Understanding by Design; CAST, Universal Design for Learning Guidelines; Council of Europe, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001; Companion Volume 2020).
Skills, management, young learners (chapters 6 and 7)	Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed., 2015); Brown and Lee, Teaching by Principles (4th ed., 2015); Cameron, Teaching Languages to Young Learners (2001); Pinter, Teaching Young Language Learners (2nd ed., 2017).
Technology (chapter 8)	Warschauer and Healey (1998) on CALL; Puentedura on SAMR; Mishra and Koehler (2006) on TPACK.
Materials, testing (chapter 9)	McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, Materials and Methods in ELT (3rd ed., 2013); Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed., 2011); Bachman and Palmer, Language Testing in Practice (1996); Hughes, Testing for Language Teachers (2nd ed., 2003); Hattie and Timperley (2007) on feedback.
Standardized tests and evaluation (chapter 10)	IEA, PIRLS framework documents; OECD, PISA framework documents; Stufflebeam on the CIPP model.

What this unit does not cover. (1) The knowledge and competences test (reading, language and communication, written expression): a separate and large body of English-language work. The platform’s unit Advanced English Knowledge and Skills covers close content but rests on a different card with different weights. (2) Moroccan official documents for English at middle school (programme guidelines, reference frameworks, baccalaureate framework): not consulted. (3) Past papers: none available. Declare these limits to yourself and fill them with the official texts.

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